A Fake Reality
by White-Tainted-Red
Summary: "His love is real, but he is not." Is it possible for two beings, a human and a non-human, to love each other? Uchiha Sasuke didn't believe in love in the first place, so who was he to be critical?
1. Lost and Found

**Hey guys! I'm back! This is a new story based off of AI, or Artificial Intelligence directed by Steven Spielberg. I hope you guys like it. I know I shouldn't be starting another fanfiction, as I have a multitude of others I have to finish. I **_**will**_** finish them; I just need to come up with ideas. In the short period of time I was gone, I came to a conclusion. My fanfictions have absolutely no plotline, and absolutely no sense of reality. I really, really hate them. Hopefully this one shows how much I've improved.**

**-x-**

"**But in the beginning, didn't God create Adam to love him?"**

**[Professor Hobby, A.I.]**

**-x-**

A Fake Reality

-x-

A_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Ar _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Art _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Arti _ _ _ _ _ _

Artif _ _ _ _ _

Artifi _ _ _ _

Artific _ _ _

Artifici _ _

Artificia _

Artificial

The ticking of the clock was slowly driving him insane, constantly reminding him of the embarrassing occupation he'd been forced into. For obvious reasons, no one knew Sasuke Uchiha was employed. He had just let any nosy acquaintances (because he'd never call them friends) think his parents still took care of his every need. Except for Shikamaru, of course. Shikamaru was the one who had helped him find the job, and worked alongside him on most nights. No one had noticed his recurrent absences from outings, all according to plan. Even without his job, he rarely attended the outings. Surprisingly, his group of so called 'acquaintances' still invited him. "It's your good looks." His mother would always say. To which Sasuke would always reply, "Even you've realized nothing else about me is appealing." Guilt tripping, his mother would comment on the phenomenal grades he'd achieved while at University. The sad thing was that this exact conversation took place at every family get together. Returning to the hoard of paperwork he'd been given, Sasuke let out an impressive sigh. His family name regularly got in the way of his emotions, so this one sigh was no doubt a moment for the history books. He heard a car pull into the parking lot, and his curiosity peaked. Cars generally weren't a topic he was interested in, but it would always surpass paperwork. The car wasn't one he recognised. Then again, he probably couldn't name a car if his life depended on it. It was a dingy blue, and unmistakably old. The engine rumbled in protest, but the car stood at a standstill in front of the entrance. The glass windows were fogged from yesterday's snowfall, blurring the faces inside of the automobile. Sasuke couldn't deny the feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. Tick, tick, tick, tick. The backseat door facing him hastily opened, and a body was carelessly tossed into the bank of snow. In a matter of seconds, the car had gone just as fast as it had arrived. Tick, tick, tick, tick.

"The person's not standing up." Sasuke commented dryly to the empty room. For every passing second, that feeling of dread grew stronger, pinching and prodding at his insides. Sasuke's body eventually stood up, reached for its coat, and walked out the door, all the while ignoring his mind's protests. The snow audibly crunched beneath his shoes, and a cold draft bit at any exposed skin. As he approached the snow bank, a frown made an appearance. He couldn't say he was worried, as he didn't care for anybody other than his own family, but he definitely felt something strange. A strand of yellow stood out against the sea of white. What he saw when he stood over the huddled shape was something he hadn't been expecting. A blonde man, with a small stature, but not particularly scrawny. His cheeks were flushed from exposure to the cold, and his eyes were closed in feigned innocence.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke kneeled on the ground, flinching when the snow soaked through his jeans. He reached a hand out to the blonde. In response, the blonde stirred slightly.

"Hello?" The Uchiha asked. He couldn't make any medicinal observations. Sure, Sasuke was intelligent, but he did not have a medical degree. Ocean blue eyes fluttered open, groggily staring at the raven.

"How do you feel?" Sasuke called. He didn't exactly know what to do in such a situation. It wasn't every day that someone got tossed into the snow outside of his workplace. As the blonde slowly came to his senses, Sasuke took the time to mutter a string of curses beneath his breath.

"W-who are y-you?" The blonde asked, voice cracking. There was something that irked Sasuke about the way the blonde spoke. It had a deep undertone to it, but the emotions in his voice... they were too animated. They weren't realistic.

"I'll answer that when I get you inside." The Uchiha finally decided on bringing the stranger inside to thaw out. He pulled the blonde towards him, letting out a sigh when he was met with a brief struggle.

"Just give it up. You'll die if you stay out here." Sasuke muttered. After minutes of insisting, Sasuke managed to haul the stranger to his feet. With an arm wrapped around the blonde's waist, the two took their precious time in getting to the doorway. The stranger was unexpectedly light, surprising Sasuke when he felt the pronounced muscles beneath the soft material of his T-shirt. The Uchiha had left the door half open for this exact reason. He half-carried, half-dragged, the blonde onto the lone sofa. The material was a shocking purple, contrasting with the brighter hues in the room. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"W-who am I?" The blonde spoke with more confidence. Sasuke frowned lightly. Maybe whatever had knocked him out had also knocked out some of his memory. The raven reached into the blonde's front pocket, coming out empty-handed. He proceeded to rifle through all other pockets before coming across a worn leather wallet. He flipped it open, scanning briefly for any form of identification. He found a picture first, but ignored it in favour of his driver's license.

"You're Naruto Uzumaki, male, age 22, born October 10, 1988." He read off of the plastic card. At least he's old enough to drive, Sasuke thought.

"I need more than that." Naruto whispered hoarsely. He held onto Sasuke's arm with the grip of a person about to pass. Limp and weak.

"I don't understand, Naruto." Sasuke's tongue memorized the feeling of the name passing through his mouth the minute he said it.

"Who am I?" Naruto said in exasperation, wrapping his other arm around Sasuke's.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand!" Sasuke repeated, caught up in the urgency of the moment.

"My favourite colour, food, animal, movie, band, my friends, parents! Simple details like those!" Naruto urged, tugging at Sasuke's sleeve. His face was rapidly losing the bright pink and fading into a sickly white.

"I don't know who you are, Naruto. I have no idea how to help you!" Sasuke yelled. His heart was beating with the speed of a humming bird.

"_Please_." Naruto dragged out the lone syllable, a whine polishing his distress and showing it off in a display case.

"Uh, okay..." Sasuke's mind couldn't quite comprehend the utmost importance of what he was about to do. He was about to shape somebody's life the way he'd wanted it to be, he was the author of a story.

"Your favourite colour is," Sasuke paused to look at the blonde's attire. Orange, orange, orange. First question, check.

"Orange."

"Favourite food..." Sasuke began. He frantically looked around the room, looking for evidence of a fast food place. Alas, there it was. Shining in all its glory, a bowl of Ichiraku's Ramen placed precariously at the corner of the table. He had recently come into contact with his middle school teacher, Iruka Umino, and had taken a liking to his favourite restaurant.

"Ramen," Sasuke added, "Preferably Ichiraku's."

"Animal..." Sasuke glanced down at the blonde who had noticeably calmed down. His eyes were glazed, staring at the ceiling in an almost unseeing manner. He searched the blonde's pockets again, finding a keychain, a yellowed movie ticket, a packet of gum, a cell phone, and an iPod. He examined the keychain first. It was an orange frog.

"Frogs. You like frogs."

"Your favourite movie is... Artificial... Intelligence?" Sasuke said, reading over the movie ticket. It dated back nine years... No normal person would keep a movie ticket in their pocket for such a ridiculous amount of time, would they?

"Band..." Sasuke trailed off. He took the iPod into his hand. It was an iPod Touch, meaning the blonde was obviously up to date with modern technology. His cell phone provided more proof. This piece of information only made the movie ticket more suspicious. He scrolled through the 1,364 songs, went to the most played, and found a variety of songs from one band.

"Marilyn Manson." The bastard that had corrupted his whole generation. ******

"Your friends..." Sasuke paused as he read over Naruto's list of contacts. To make sure, he checked his own phone. There they were, every friend who was on Sasuke's list was on Naruto's list. He was too shocked to be amused at the sheer irony of it all.

"Kiba, Shino, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Ten-ten, Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara, Chouji, Temari, Kankurou, Neji." He listed off, briefly out of breath when he reached the end. The frown escalated on his face when he realized he couldn't answer Naruto's last question. He had no clue who the blonde's parents were. He checked the wallet, and wasn't shocked when the picture he'd seen before came fluttering out. There was a feisty looking red-head, a tall blonde with fierce blue eyes, and a small baby cradled in the red-head's arms. Sasuke took a chance and guessed that the red-head was Naruto's mother, the older blonde was his father, and the baby... was Naruto himself. He checked the back of the picture for names, but only found a date. July 23, 1989. Sasuke was turning one on that day. Mere coincidence? He didn't think so.

"Who are you?" Sasuke whispered, narrowing his eyes in unconcealed confusion.

"That's what you're supposed to be telling me!" Naruto startled Sasuke out of his mindscape. The blonde had snapped out of his apparent trance in Sasuke's mental absence. The blonde wore a grin on his face, but to Sasuke, it was obviously fake.

"Stop that!" Sasuke reprimanded. A sudden bout of anger had him struggling to stay in his seat and not demanding answers from Naruto.

"Sorry." Naruto tilted his head awkwardly to the side, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. The warmth of the gesture flooded Sasuke's whole being.

"You're so _weird_!" Sasuke muttered. Taking a deep breath, he shrugged away Naruto's hand.

"I have to go." Sasuke said, briefly glancing up at the clock.

"No, you don't." Naruto replied almost immediately.

"Yes I do." Sasuke said.

"No..." Naruto drawled.

"Uh, yes." Sasuke's tone left room for no more discussion.

"Please don't go?" Naruto whimpered. The blonde was used to begging for things, and his technique was flawless.

"I... I really do have to go. Shikamaru's going to take over my shift..." Sasuke frowned. Shikamaru was going to be arriving any minute now, and he was going to ask about the blonde.

"You can use the phone to call someone. So they can pick you up." Sasuke said dryly. He noticed the wary expression on Naruto's face.

"Erm, I can't." Naruto deadpanned.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked. He glanced desperately at the clock. Two minutes.

"I can't tell you that." The blonde absently twiddled his thumbs, vaguely aware of the glare Sasuke permanently had on his face.

"Why do you have all of my fr... acquaintance's phone numbers on your phone?" Sasuke questioned. His feet were starting to ache from having stood for so long, but he refused to go anywhere near the blonde.

"Can't tell you that either." Naruto said shortly. He ran a hand through his hair in an almost mechanical gesture.

"Sasuke?" A voice called from the doorway. Both men turned to face Shikamaru. He was wearing a dark over coat, a pair of dark, slightly baggy jeans, and a red T-shirt.

"Shikamaru." Sasuke nodded in greeting. Shikamaru briefly glanced over at Naruto, surprise clear on his face.

"N-Naruto!" He struggled to find words.

"Do I know you?" Naruto's lips stretched into a warm smile, but not reaching his azure blue eyes.

"You don't remember?" Shikamaru held his gaze, as if communicating a double meaning.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Sasuke asked in bewilderment. He didn't let it show on his face though.

"No... I don't remember." Naruto answered. Shikamaru couldn't repress the disappointment burning him.

"He's the idiot who lived across the street from me when I was ten." Shikamaru said.

"How come I've never met him?" Well, Sasuke was certainly in a curious mood.

"You were invited," Shikamaru began.

"But didn't bother to come." Sasuke finished for him. Shikamaru nodded gravely.

"I found him unconscious in the snow bank outside." Sasuke informed Shikamaru. Shikamaru shrugged, letting the new information sink in.

"I know." The lazy man nodded. Sasuke raised a brow, forcing Shikamaru to enlighten them. He stuck his hands in his pockets, "I told you not to get involved with them, Naruto."

"Involved with who?" Naruto frowned. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, stepping out of the door way. He made sure to shut the door tightly behind him, in an attempt to preserve the heat.

"They knocked you out." Shikamaru deadpanned. It seemed like he was trying to spark recognition again.

"Involved with who?" Sasuke asked again. He was losing his patience, not only was he being ignored, he was _interested _in who this mystery blonde was.

"Just... just these _people_." Shikamaru said in what seemed to be poorly contained disgust.

"That was rather vague, Shikamaru." Sasuke sighed, rubbing the nape of his neck in irritation.

"It's a gift." The lazy man said, straying further away from the question.

"Naruto?" Sasuke turned to the blonde who had taken the time to get comfortable. He was practically one with the blanket.

"If I remembered, I would tell you." Naruto's voice was muffled beyond recognition from the soft cotton of the blanket.

"Alright... Shikamaru, can I speak to you in private, please?" Sasuke beckoned towards the employee's only room at the back of the office.

"By all means, lead the way."

-x-

"So, who is he?" Sasuke asked casually.

"You'll find out soon enough." Shikamaru replied. He leaned against the wall, flinching when it made contact with a recently acquired bruise.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not." Shikamaru grinned. Sasuke did not hold back when his hand pulled back into a fist and made impact with Shikamaru's face.

"Asshole, I'm glad you're having so much fun." Sasuke snarled.

"Oh, I'm amused, alright. I've got to get back to work. If you're too deranged to attend to Naruto, I'll do it. He can stay at my apartment... although I'm not sure if he remembers." Shikamaru gently cradled his rapidly bruising eye. He can't say he didn't deserve it.

"Hn."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Sasuke. Say bye to Blondie, will you?" Shikamaru gestured towards the door.

"The freak can live without a good bye." Sasuke muttered. He opened the door, ignoring the blonde's wandering eyes. Looking up at the reflection in the window, he didn't miss the blank expression on Naruto's face.

**-x-**

**So what do you guys think? Leave a review, if you please! I won't update for another week to two weeks. I'm guessing some of you have already figured out what/who Naruto is? Anyways, love you guys!**

**** I figured this was a very Sasuke-esque thing to say. I love Marilyn Manson.**


	2. Meltdown

**Sorry for the late update. Thank you so much for reviewing and favouriting! Hope this chapter's to your liking.**

**-x-**

"**One day they'll have secrets... one day they'll have dreams."**

**[Dr. Alfred Lanning, I, Robot]**

**-x-**

It had taken Naruto a while, two weeks or so, for simple details to start coming back. He was finally allowed back into his own apartment when deemed mentally stable. He was used to it, it had happened to him many, many times before. He had been reset a startling amount of forty six times in his life span of 22 years. At least twice per year. To Naruto, it seemed like no one wanted him. But he still held the hope that someday, someone would truly appreciate him for who he was. He never gave up hope because if he did, he would never find that person. A cyborg is attached to their activator in a way that cannot be described by mere words. For Naruto and Sasuke, this bond between cyborg and activator runs so much deeper. Sasuke has simply not taken the time to notice.

-x-

"Ino... is that Naruto?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at a young man a couple feet ahead. "Looks like it. He looks so miserable without Sasuke though." She answered, smirking at the strangled yell her best friend gave.

"W-without S-Sasuke? Wh-what? When did they become friends?" Sakura questioned, her eyes widening in surprise and expertly concealed distress. Ino nodded, but kept her eyes trained on Naruto. He was sitting alone at a picnic table, with his back facing them.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it friendship... " Ino trailed off, leaving her words hanging in mid air. She started walking towards him, ignoring Sakura's protests. Sitting down in front of him, she leaned forward.

"Hey, Naru. Where's Sasuke?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. Naruto lifted his gaze, but otherwise gave no other reaction. Ino tapped her chin in mock thought before saying, "I've looked everywhere for him, but it seems he's vanished into thin air. I figured you would know..."

"_Ino_." Naruto muttered. Ino arched a brow. "Anyways, I was actually wondering where he was. I thought the obvious place would be his apartment, but he wasn't there. Then I checked your apartment and the library... so now I've come to you."

"I don't know, Ino. He doesn't want anything to do with me." Naruto sluggishly ran his hands through his hair, a clear sign of his misery. Ino frowned at the reaction, while Sakura, standing behind her, remained motionless.

"Yeah, and?" Ino said, cradling her chin with her hands. Naruto shook his head in exasperation.

"Why are you not with him, insisting on conversation?"

He sighed in defeat before replying, "I told you already, he wants nothing to do with me. He thinks I'm some sort of...freak."

"Frankly, it'll take a while to get used to. I'm sure he'll come around soon enough." She grinned, nodding in encouragement. Naruto's features softened, and he slumped in his seat. Ino reached over and patted his cheek reassuringly. The male blonde leaned into the gesture as if it were a lifeline. "Hey, hey. Cheer up! Where's that killer smile?" She murmured. Naruto pursed his lips in silent contemplation before his face broke out in the smile that could replace the sun if ever needed. Ino stood up, gesturing towards the pinkette lingering in the background. She heard Sakura grumble beneath her breath, but chose to ignore it, like usual.

"Well, I'm going to head off now. Hang in there, Naru." She reached over the table to wrap her arms around the blonde's shoulders. While Sakura grimaced whenever she had contact with Naruto, Ino was already accustomed to the feverish warmth of his skin.

"Ino! Come on!" Sakura called. Ino ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately and turned to Sakura. "Ready?"

"Sure..." Sakura mumbled, frowning at her best friend. Ino seemed to notice this, but didn't comment. She would let Sakura tell her when she was ready. She walked beside Sakura, enjoying the silence between them.

"What was that?" The pinkette asked. She crossed her arms over her chest in attempted intimidation.

"What was what?" Ino repeated. Her best friend could be such a drama queen. She had to admit that she sometimes wondered if their friendship was worth all of the effort.

"Let's just say your flirting was very obvious." Sakura sneered. She typically wasn't a bad person. She tried to tolerate people, but some people just set her off without even trying. Ino was one of those people, and ironically, was one of her best friends.

"My flirting? _What _flirting?" Ino asked in surprise. Naruto was adorable, and she wasn't ashamed to say it, but she would never feel that way for him. Sakura should know that better than anybody else. As a matter of fact, she'd told Sakura who had caught her eye a while ago. Unfortunately for Ino, this seemingly minor detail was a serious risk to her relationship with Naruto. She didn't want to lose the blonde for anything, he was one of her numerous best friends, and she took great pride in her friends. Without a moment's hesitation, Ino would do anything to help her friends.

Sakura scoffed before walking in the opposite direction. "I don't understand!" Ino yelled after her. Sighing in frustration, she continued on her way home. She was sure Sakura would get over herself eventually. She wouldn't expect an apology from her.

When the blonde was a block away from her house, she heard footsteps catching up to her. Glancing back, she was surprised when she saw none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

"A-Ah. Hey, Sasuke!" Ino stuttered. Despite how hard she tried to shake off the butterflies in her stomach whenever she talked to him, her efforts were futile. He was still the only man she knew that could send her into a turmoil.

"Hello, Ino." Sasuke greeted with a nod of his head. He seemed to be in high spirits, which was a rarity.

"How's your day been so far?" Ino frantically searched for a conversation topic.

"It's been..." Sasuke struggled to find the word that could perfectly describe his day. He vaguely recalled that the term for forgetting a word or phrase was Lethologica.

"Long?" Ino suggested helpfully. Sasuke very nearly shook his head, but decided that if he wanted to end the conversation quickly, he should let it slide.

"Long." Sasuke said.

"Aren't they always?" Ino said with ease. She spoke as if she was entrusting Sasuke with an important word of advice.

"Not always." The Uchiha disagreed. "I've found that some days feel shorter than others."

"Of course, I know exactly how you feel." Ino brushed off the sense of urgency growing in her stomach.

"Hn." Sasuke muttered.

"So..." She began, aware that she was treading on thin ice. "I heard that you found Shikamaru's childhood friend unconscious in a snow bank."

Sasuke growled in irritation.

"Yeah, I did." His words were clipped.

"Uh, so how is he? Is he okay?" Ino asked, scrambling to keep the conversation going. To be honest, Sasuke wasn't giving her much to work with. She knew that the Uchiha had never been particularly good at conversation, but this was an absolute understatement.

"Shikamaru would know more than I would." Sasuke replied. Ino found herself leading them down an alley. It wasn't the alley; however, that was sending her into a panic. What was sending her into a panic was what was sitting at a picnic table at the end of the alley. Naruto. She could already see his mop of blonde hair shining in the sunlight.

"But Shikamaru's so lazy! He'd never tell me anything!" Her voice was reaching a squeal, effectively gaining the attention of the people surrounding them, including the gang's golden boy, Naruto. Ino caught the blonde's gaze and violently shook her head, hoping Naruto would understand the meaning behind it. Fortunately, he did, stopping himself from yelling Ino's name and instead yelling Sasuke's.

"This must be a joke." Sasuke hissed beneath his breath.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto tilted his head in that odd way of his and flashed his signature grin.

"Hello, Naruto." Sasuke's lip curled up in distaste. The game was in Naruto's hands now. He gestured towards Ino.

"Who's this?" He asked as he stood.

"Ino Yamanaka. She's a friend. Ino, this is Naruto..." Sasuke prodded his mind for the last name.

"Uzumaki." Naruto finished for him. His eyes lost their spark for a moment, but he hid it with a cheeky smile. Not before Sasuke saw, of course. Those few seconds of raw emotion left Sasuke curious.

"It's nice to meet you, Ino." Naruto reached out for her hand and raised it to his lips. Ino could barely hold in a giggle of embarrassment.

"The pleasure is mine, Naruto." Ino smirked.

"Oh no, Ino. It's all mine."

"What are you talking about? It's an honour to have met you!"

"That must be an exaggeration! I'm honoured to be in your presence!"

"Will you two idiots stop fooling around and get off the road?" Sasuke deadpanned. The blondes chuckled nervously, their eyes following the infinite line of cars that had piled up at the intersection due to their bickering.

"Sorry, Sasuke." Naruto apologized. Sasuke turned to face him, finally looking him dead in the eyes.

"Be more careful." That was all he got as Sasuke and Ino left on their merry way. He could feel his cheeks heating up, and assumed they were a cherry red. To anybody else, it would have seemed like a simple warning from the pale man, but to Naruto, he took it as a sign of friendship. _He's worried about me_, Naruto gushed to himself.

-x-

The blonde was still shaking with excitement when he arrived home. Glancing at the clock, Naruto estimated that he could have a 15 minute shower before Shikamaru came over. He hurriedly abandoned his clothes in his bedroom, leaving only his boxers on as he strolled towards the bathroom. Shutting the door behind him, he made a point to force all 5 locks closed. This would generally bring about panic, having five locks on a bathroom door, but this was merely a precaution. He lazily pulled down his boxers, in no way ashamed of his body. He frowned as he scrolled through the settings on the control panel by the shower door. There were six different water settings he could choose from, of which two he'd never touched and one had been an experiment gone wrong. He decided to go with one of his regulars, _Rainforest_.

He watched as the water slowly began to spray from the ceiling. He chose not to turn on the radio as he stepped into the steamy glass container. The water was light and moderately warm. He could already feel his skin fibres reacting to the steady stream. Finishing up in a dazzling display of speed, Naruto leaped out of the shower and stood beneath the dryers installed into the ceiling. With a quick flick of his wrist, the hot air swept through every nook and cranny of his body. Ruffling his hair in front of the mirror, Naruto could only shake his head in amusement.

"I'm way too hot."

"Naruto?" Shikamaru called.

"Shikamaru! How in the hell did you get in my apartment?" Naruto yelled back.

"I've always had a key." The brunette said from outside the bathroom door. Naruto could hear something being pushed and turned inside each lock, and the blonde scrambled to cover himself before it was too late.

"I'm naked, man!" Naruto cried. Shikamaru opened the door as far as he could without exposing Naruto. Shutting his eyes, he blindly extended a pair of boxers and a set of clothes through the crack in the door.

"A-ah, thanks, Shika." Naruto stuttered, his previous confidence zapped away.

"We've been through this multiple times, Naruto. Towels exist for a reason." Shikamaru muttered. "I'm taking a nap in your living room."

"And privacy exists for a reason too!" Naruto retorted. He slipped into the plaid boxers and the baggy fluorescent orange T-shirt Shikamaru had handed him. He carried the folded jeans into the living room, where he set on the table before falling into a bean bag chair.

"You're not wearing any pants." Shikamaru stated without opening his eyes.

"Nah." Naruto agreed.

The brunette half opened an eye before inquiring, "Why are you not wearing any pants?"

"It's uncomfortable." The blonde managed to find a comfortable spot in his bean bag.

Shikamaru shook his head, now fully awake. "You never used to do that."

"I met this one girl who doesn't put pants on for a while after she comes out of the shower, so I figured I'd try it." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's weird and troublesome." Shikamaru muttered.

"Everyone has weird habits, right? I needed one, and there it is!" Naruto reasoned.

"I don't have a weird habit." Shikamaru growled. He didn't like when Naruto did this. To be honest, Naruto had been doing it all his life. Adopting other people's habits and personality types so he could fit in. Shikamaru figured it was just his way of finding his own persona, but he'd been doing it too frequently now.

"You fall asleep with your eyes open." Naruto growled. He was mildly irritated by Shikamaru's persistence.

"Alright, alright. You win. Just don't go adopting anymore weird habits, okay? I like you just the way you are." The brunette's head lolled in exhaustion.

"Okay, Shika. You can put your head down, I know you're tired." Naruto chuckled.

"Thanks, Naruto. Before I do that, though, I wanted to know how Sasuke's been treating you." Shikamaru said. The blonde's eyes averted to the side, his face flushed a deep red, and he twiddled his thumbs. Shikamaru had hit the jack pot.

"Uh," Naruto began, debating whether to tell Shikamaru about their encounter today or not. "I ran into him today, actually."

"Did you? What did he say?" The brunette asked. He raised his eyebrows in interest.

"Well, he introduced me to his friend, which happened to be Ino, so Ino and I had to pretend we'd never met. We had... _quite _the conversation. We didn't notice we'd strayed onto the road until Sasuke yelled at us for it. So... I apologized, and you know, he warned me to be... more c-careful, and st-stuff." Naruto couldn't control the tremor in his voice even if he wanted to. Shikamaru noticed this as well.

"So, would you say he's finally beginning to accept you?" Shikamaru asked. He leaned his head against the velvet pillow nearest to him, wincing softly when his eye, who was still tender from Sasuke's punch, rubbed against it.

"The thing is," Naruto said, completely ignoring the brunette's question for the time being, "I don't understand why he's so repulsed by me. I mean, he probably has an inkling of what I am, but I doubt he'd know for sure. Unless someone told him, that is. Which I highly doubt. I don't... look any different now, do I? I can remember getting anything I wanted with a well-timed pout, and if not that, I was a smooth talker, according to Ino. So why doesn't he like me? Is there really something so off about me?"

Shikamaru sighed. Naruto would rant for hours and hours if he had the time.

"He just thinks you're strange, that's all. Who wouldn't? It's the truth, Naruto... don't give me that look. You know it is. He just needs some time to get used to it. He hasn't figured it out yet. I don't think he's reached the point where he's morbidly curious. It took _me _a while to reach that point. And yes, my laziness did slow the process. However, he is exceptionally stubborn, which I'm sure you've noticed. He's going to take more time than anyone else has, including myself. There's nothing strange about your appearance, Naruto. Nothing negative, at least. It's rare to see someone as attractive as you in these parts. Tch, genetics." He added that last compliment for the sake of seeing Naruto flush a brilliant red. It was almost too easy to embarrass the blonde.

"Oh, shut up. I'm just as average as anybody else. I suppose I'll have to wait out his stubbornness then?" Naruto's lips curled in distaste.

"Yup. Anyways, I'm going out for dinner with the girls..."

"Like, Ino and Sakura?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah. Temari and Ten-ten too." Shikamaru nodded.

"Shikamaru Nara... ladies man."

"Naruto Uzumaki... too lazy to think of a comeback. Later."

"Bye, _Shika_!"

-x-

Naruto was left alone in his apartment. He realized he had some things to think through. However, he wasn't looking forward to clearing up the muddle of thoughts in his mind, as this would only leave room for more confusing thoughts. His psychologist had told him to list things he knew, gradually working up to the bigger things he was still unsure about.

1. I am a product of Artificial Intelligence.

2. My name is Naruto Uzumaki.

3. I am 22 years old.

4. My best friends are Ino Yamanaka and Shikamaru Nara.

5. My parents are Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

6. I was found by Sasuke Uchiha, unconscious in a snow bank.

7. Sasuke Uchiha reset me.

8. Sasuke Uchiha is repulsed by me.

9. Sasuke Uchiha is worried about me.

10. I've taken a liking to Sasuke Uchiha.

P.S. The irony of it all is that Sasuke Uchiha is the root of my problems.

**-x-**

**Hope you enjoyed it! I love you guys. The whole concept is supposed to be explained as the story moves forward. So it wouldn't be a surprise if you didn't understand certain details.**


	3. Sweet and Salty

**There you have it: Chapter 3. Enjoy.**

**-x-**

"**Would you be so kind and shut down my pain receivers?"**

**[Junky Mecha, A.I.]**

**-x-**

The bitter smell of smoke stung his nose. He sluggishly lifted his head to examine his surroundings while his senses came back to him. His view of the front of the vehicle was obstructed by a body recently knocked unconscious. His stomach flipped when his mother's red, red hair came into focus. He vaguely noticed his head pulsating. Streaks a shade darker than the hair they filtered through dribbled down his mother's pale shoulders.

"M-mom?" The blonde called in sickening realization. He was met with the light pitter pattering of the rain hitting the metal of the car.

Fragments of their road trip were projected onto his closed eyelids. He remembered how only a week or so before, his mother had suggested some mother-son bonding. He'd nearly knocked her over when he flung himself into her arms out of gratitude. They'd been passing through a rough patch. They planned what locations they wanted to visit, and only three days later were hitting the road. Music blasting from the stereo. Windows open to let in what little breeze endured the desert's arid environment. Flushed, sun kissed faces. A rapidly growing pile of empty water bottles littering the back seat. He'd chosen to sit in the front seat. It wasn't because he wanted to keep his mother company, but because it made him appear older than he really was. He looked about thirteen years old, but was really fifteen. So why was he now sprawled on the back seat, plastic digging into his flesh? The last memory he could scavenge... was of his mother, Kushina, claiming she missed his father. Then the flare of irritation that sparked whenever his father was mentioned... They'd gotten back into the car, their raised voices unnoticed in the hectic parking lot. They'd argued over the subject for a while, before impenetrable silence fell over them. When Kushina opened her mouth to apologize, Naruto beat her to it. Only he didn't stutter an apology but three painful, painful words. _I hate you_.

But he never did. He'd thought it, voiced it, multiple times. He'd even wished harm upon her. But he never meant it. He'd die if anything happened to his mother. She was his support, his courage, his determination, his reason for being the person he was. He loved his mother with a passion greater than the whole universe. Only now, as he watched her lying so motionless, did he realize his mistake. His mother had given him life with the help of his father. So how could he hate the person who had taken care of him when he'd been the most vulnerable? His mother could have taken his life away without hesitation. She'd told him the story of her nine month pregnancy so frequently and with such rich detail that he could recite it by heart, and picture any scene. Only now, as the blood began to dry, did he feel regret. He hoped she'd wake up soon so he could tell her he loved her, and that was what mattered, right? But she never did.

Naruto let out a deep breath. Sasuke turned towards him, an unspoken question hanging in the air. They'd stumbled before each other by pure coincidence, or as Sasuke called it, punishment. The moment Naruto saw the raven, Sasuke was doomed. Naruto had insisted on an early breakfast, more for his benefit than Sasuke's.

"I have a mandatory work meeting to attend..." Sasuke had half-heartedly protested. He would have put in more effort had it been later on in the day. He'd found he didn't function properly in the mornings. Naruto was surprisingly persistent. Now, as they sat in the cozy café, the atmosphere had abruptly shifted from pleasant to serious. When the blonde didn't respond, Sasuke found himself repeating the question... out loud.

"Is there something the matter?"

Blank blue eyes snapped to awareness. "Of course not! I'm absolutely chipper."

"Chipper? I didn't know that word was still in use." Sasuke proudly showed off his trademark smirk.

"I'm surprised you even know what it means." Naruto retorted. At any other time he would have laughed off the insult, but he still wasn't feeling up to his best. He always tried to distract himself with strange hobbies, but somehow that memory managed to sneak up on him and spoil his day.

"I've had my share of experiences." Sasuke arched a brow, inflating Naruto's irritation. The stupid bastard could do that, and he couldn't! It irked him when someone could do something with ease when Naruto had been practicing for years upon years.

"You act as if you're so much older!" Naruto huffed. Sasuke's other brow joined the first.

"Aren't I?" He asked in apparent surprise. To be honest, Sasuke could easily compare Naruto with an 11 year old. Or perhaps a golden Retriever pup.

"I'm 22, if you haven't forgotten." The blonde pouted.

"I haven't forgotten. I'm a few months older." The Uchiha leaned back in his seat. He'd realized that Naruto wasn't as bad as he had originally thought he was.

"Yeah, like two months older, I bet!" Naruto shovelled a pile of scrambled eggs into his mouth before he could start a rant on how much of a bastard Sasuke was.

"Two months and seventeen days, to be exact." Sasuke closed his eyes, savouring the taste of bacon covered in maple syrup. It was a strange combination, but he frequently craved anything sweet and salty. Naruto remained silent in effort to calm down before mumbling, "Can I try some of your bacon?"

Sasuke took his time in answering, as he wanted to build the suspense. "...No."

"Aw, c'mon, Sasuke!" Naruto put on his best puppy eyes. Sasuke hesitated, but still managed to refuse.

"Please, please, please! With vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge and rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top?" The Uchiha chuckled at the blonde's childishness. Yes, he was definitely an 11 year old.

"If you add _two_ cherries..." Sasuke trailed off. He liked teasing the blonde. _Wait, what? When had he come to that conclusion?_ He decided it wasn't the best opportunity to drown himself in critical thinking.

"With two cherries!" Naruto quickly repeated. Now, Naruto didn't know why he was begging for a bite of Sasuke's bacon. He'd just finished his own bacon, as a matter of fact. He'd just figured he wanted a taste of Sasuke's 'cause it almost cheered the Uchiha up.

"Alright, alright. Calm down first." Sasuke sighed. As he picked up his plate, he caught a glance of the time on his wrist. He had forty minutes to stop by the nearest bakery and order an unhealthy amount of croissants before getting to work. Shikamaru had specifically requested the croissants. For what purpose? Sasuke did not know.

"I've got to get going soon." The raven commented absently. He forked the rest of his uneaten bacon onto Naruto's plate. Sasuke saw a flicker of disappointment pass through Naruto's eyes. The blonde had succeeded in distracting himself from the grotesque images that swamped his brain, and now his distraction was _leaving_?

"Oh... okay. Thanks for the bacon." Sasuke studied the blonde as he took a small bite of one of the crispiest slices. Naruto nodded in delight that he didn't even try to hide.

"So... you like it?" Sasuke asked out of politeness. He checked the time again, and found that four minutes had passed. Had he really spent that long watching the blonde? He really needed to get to the bakery too...

"Yeah!" Naruto finished devouring the rest of the bacon in under a minute. He then waved a waitress over and asked for the bill. Before the waitress could leave, Sasuke stated they'd be splitting the bill.

"No-" Naruto tried to protest, but the waitress was already gone. He looked over at Sasuke with a foreign warmth in his eyes.

"Listen, do you know of any nearby bakeries?" Sasuke asked. Naruto contemplated what to say for a moment before replying with, "Yeah, I go to this really nice one that's a block away to buy Shikamaru croissants all the time."

Sasuke was surprised that he hadn't noticed Shikamaru had taken a liking to croissants. He really needed to start going out with his frie-_acquaintances _again.

"Would you mind giving me directions?" Sasuke prompted, tapping the table in impatience. He wasn't irritated with the blonde, but with the dark haired waitress who was taking her time.

"Sure. As you're leaving the café... take your first left, then take the third right. The bakery is straight ahead. It's called Haruno Bakeries." Naruto explained. He didn't have to let Sasuke know that the only reason he went to the bakery that was farthest from his house was because the baker's daughter was one of his friends. She kind of looked like a treat, too. With her pink hair and all.

"Oh, that's Sakura's dad's bakery, right?" The Uchiha questioned. Naruto nodded. The waitress finally arrived with the bill. She then carried away both their credit cards. She returned shortly. The two exited the café and stood outside for goodbyes. At least, that's what Sasuke thought. Naruto made to follow him to the bakery, but Sasuke abruptly turned and none too gently shoved him away.

"Sasuke?" Naruto did a good job of hiding his distress.

"I can find it on my own, thank you." Sasuke glared.

"Fine, asshole. Don't bother to ask for my help anytime soon." Naruto's voice shook as he spoke. Sasuke didn't respond and instead walked further and further away. He left a quivering blonde in his wake.

-x-

Two days later, Naruto spent an hour to two hours on the phone with Ino, talking about Sasuke, complaining about Sasuke, laughing about Sasuke, and crying over Sasuke. Ino could only do her best to comfort him. When the blonde finally hung up, he sat on his favourite bean bag chair to think. That... day... he'd been on his way to visit friends, you could say. They were probably going to have a mouthful to say to him. Shikamaru had warned him not to associate with them, but it was difficult. They'd been his family after _every failed activation_. In a weird, twisted way he felt he could trust them. Shikamaru, however, had always made wrongful accusations of them. Those accusations seriously hurt their relationship, but they'd been friends since they could speak, and they managed to survive that rough patch. The brunette had never been able to trust Naruto's 'family' ever since they'd-

"Naruto?" Someone called out from his living room.

"How the hell do all of my friends manage to get into my apartment?" Naruto shouted back. He heard a male chuckling.

"It's called a spare key. Don't leave it in the same place if you don't want us to use it!"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Kiba, is that you?"

"Damn right it is! What, don't you remember the sound of my sweet, sweet voice?" The two were slowly making their way towards each other. Naruto could hear Kiba's voice echoing from down the hallway. He'd forgotten to turn on the lights, so the mixture of darkness and loud voices echoing in his apartment made him shiver.

"Kiba, your voice resembles that of a prepubescent teenager!" Kiba's laugh was rather sweet though. It made Naruto smile.

"No, it's hot." Kiba's volume had significantly dropped, as they were both just outside of the same room.

"Keep telling yourself that, bud. Maybe the puberty fairy will take pity on you." Naruto opened the door, and came face to face with a grinning Kiba on the other side of the room.

"I didn't know the puberty fairy existed." Kiba shook his head in thought. Naruto rushed towards him and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's shoulders.

"I didn't know someone as annoying as you existed. Also, I just made her up for the sake of being witty." Naruto retorted. The brunette didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Naruto's slim waist.

"You're the one hugging me now, dude." Kiba laughed. Naruto could feel Kiba's whole body shake with amused laughter.

"Good point." The blonde finally pulled away, but let his arms stay on Kiba's shoulders.

"I hear from piggy you're suffering from heartbreak." Kiba muttered, his concern evident in his voice.

"Ino or Chouji?" The blonde dropped his arms to his sides, turning away from one of his best friends to pace.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I'm practically rolling on the floor laughing." Kiba deadpanned. The two remained silent, each one waiting for the other to break the tense silence. Since they were both such chatter boxes, this was a surprising feat. Eventually, Naruto spoke.

"You know what's the worst part of my life?"

"Being AI?" Kiba asked quietly. He had taken a seat on Naruto's bed. He could barely make out Naruto's silhouette in the darkness.

"It was a rhetorical question, stupid." There was no teasing in the blonde's tone. Kiba looked down at his feet.

"...Falling in love with every person who activates me. I'm not meant to be a worthless cyborg that you can reset and activate whenever you like. I mean, I remember that one old guy who activated me. I was horrified. Well, not at the time, of course. My will couldn't override my purpose. So I loved him with everything I could. And Kiba... Oh, it was... It was... I hate it! I want to be me. I want to be Naruto Uzumaki. I want to stop getting hurt, because Kiba, I'm so tired. I'm tired of being treated like less than a pile of shit. I'm tired of being lusted after. Why do people even lust after cyborgs? I'm a freaking robot with a human heart. With a human mindscape. Do you know how hard it is? I... I wish I'd never been turned into a cyborg. I don't even want to go on, living this life. Wait, I don't have a life. I'm a cyborg, remember? I don't have a life but a purpose. Screw you, Cy-Tec. And when-"

Kiba and the whole gang had been trying to prevent this breakdown from happening for as long as possible. Now, that it had happened, Kiba didn't feel emotionally prepared. So he stopped Naruto physically.

"K-Kiba? What the hell?" Naruto cradled his cheek. He hadn't received any physical harm. Tsk, like a human could ever harm a cyborg with their fists. His pain receivers were spiking though.

"Stop. Just stop talking. I don't ever, ever want to hear those words again." Kiba's voice shook with his pent up anger.

"I love you, Naruto. Shikamaru loves you. Ino loves you. The whole gang loves you. And Sasuke will come around to loving you too. We've all been trying to help you get through this. We know how difficult life has been for you. And we're trying so hard to keep you sane. But when you say those things... it's like you're throwing away all of our effort. All of our hard work. So stop, okay? We're going to get through this together. I promise. We'll find a solution to it all. So please, just stop. You have to keep holding on." The brunette pleaded. With Naruto's enhanced vision, he could see tears trailing down Kiba's cheeks. The sight stirred his heart.

"Kiba, I'm so sorry. I just need some time to get back on track, okay? I'm sorry." Naruto breathed out. Tears blurred his vision. But they weren't tears. Not really. They were an artificial substance created to resemble tears. He wanted to cry so bad... to cry for real. Who knew he'd ever miss crying so much? Kiba wrapped his arms around Naruto and rubbed his cheek against the soft, golden hair.

"Sh, it's okay, Naru."

The blonde sniffed before releasing a dark chuckle. "You know, if I could cry for real, I would."

Kiba joined in the laughter. "I'm sorry for punching you."

"It's... okay."

"Ow!"

"Don't be such a cry baby."

"Come on, you're made out of metal or something. I'm made out of bone!"

"That's no excuse..."

-x-

Things got substantially better as time moved on. It had been a week since Naruto and Sasuke's shared breakfast. Five days since he'd had that discussion with Kiba. And it had only been yesterday that Sasuke had come over to apologize. Shikamaru had obviously given Sasuke the address, as the Uchiha held Shikamaru in tow when they arrived.

The apology had been quick and to the point.

_It was the most heart-felt apology Sasuke had ever given._

**-x-**

**So... I'm sorry. That took way too long. I just couldn't think of what to write, and I ended up rewriting it twice. I'm moderately pleased with how it came out. I hope you guys think so too. Thank you so much for the reviews and for the Favourites. You make me so happy. **

**Lucky Kuro Neko: Haha, awww! I know! Poor Naruto. Thank you for the review!**

**lowfat-yogurt: Thank you soo much! Haha, I'm so proud that you think so. I hope you like this chapter just as much! Oh, and I love your pen name. **


	4. Contact

**Yo. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!**

**-x-**

"**Love, when you get fear in it, it's not love any more. It's hate."**

**[James M. Cain]**

**-x-**

Naruto knew he could easily be replaced. There was always going to be a finer intelligence. At least, until absolute perfection was acquired. That was what it meant to be human, right? Humans were made from trial and error. Not cyborgs. Their purpose was to resemble humans, but in their own twisted way, to be perfect. Or as close to perfect as was possible. Naruto knew he wasn't perfect. What other reason could there be for Sasuke's obvious dislike of him? He tried to be polite, kind, funny, intelligent... but he couldn't execute perfection. To be honest, he'd once stood on a busy street, stopping pedestrians and asking whether perfection could be achieved. Most had replied with a 'nobody's perfect'. Others had said 'perhaps in the future'. But there was one person, just one... whose answer had absolutely shocked him.

"It has already been achieved."

But what did that mean?

-x-

The blonde spent his free time reading science magazines. Science had always been of interest to him, and the irony never failed to amuse him. He _was _science. His whole group of friends knew of his passion for the sciences and whenever his birthday arrived, would present him with something spectacular. One time they'd bought him a telescope, another time they'd bought him a subscription to each of his favourite science magazines, and another time they'd brought him to an observatory. He'd found each present to be surreal, and had profusely thanked each friend for their kindness. So, as expected, he was greatly looking forward to his upcoming birthday.

"Sasuke, when's your birthday?" Naruto spoke into the phone. He didn't really know how he'd gotten Sasuke's phone number. One day, him and Ino had exchanged phones. He'd spent the day texting strangers and probably screwing Ino over. Most of them would text her again, after the show Naruto put on. The next day, when he'd been scrolling through his contact list, he found Sasuke's name. Then he went to his inbox, and discovered a two hour long conversation. On science. As he looked through it, he realized how scientifically incorrect Ino had been. She'd been spouting nonsense on how humans had 47 chromosomes.

"Well yeah, if they have down-syndrome!" He'd confronted her as soon as possible, which led to a squabble, which in turn led to him thanking her for her generosity. She had, at least, left Sasuke's number on his phone. So now here he was, talking to the emotionless bastard himself.

"July 23, why?" Sasuke replied. He seemed preoccupied, so Naruto waited a bit before answering so he didn't sound so desperate.

"Just wondering. I like to plan ahead when it comes to birthday presents." The blonde said, allowing himself to become distracted by Ino's constant: "Get off of the phone with your boyfriend, you idiot. I want to go shopping _now_."

"Does that mean I have to get you something too?" Sasuke asked, amusement clear even through the static of the phone.

"Bastard. I gotta go. Ino's been pestering me to take her out to McDonald's for a while now." Naruto spared a glance at the female blonde, who was fuming on the couch. "I want to go SHOPPING. Not to McDonald's."

"Why, she can't order a happy meal herself?" The raven teased. Naruto smiled as he thought of what Sasuke could possibly be doing. Maybe he was reading, or maybe he was painting something. The blonde had been surprised when he'd seen Sasuke's paintings. In fact, he'd been surprised to hear the raven even painted.

"Apparently not." Naruto pursed his lips as his curiosity got the best of him. "Are you painting right now?"

"It's a possibility." Sasuke said, before softly muttering a curse under his breath.

"Are you going to tell me what you're painting, then?" The blonde asked, biting on the end of a pen. It was a nasty habit he'd developed a couple months ago. Shikamaru had been on his back about that one, too.

"...The sun." The Uchiha answered simply. "Weren't you leaving?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Bye. Good luck on your painting."

"I won't be needing it. Already been scrapped, anyways." Sasuke sounded disappointed, but Naruto couldn't be too sure. Despite Ino tugging on his arm with her full weight, he still managed to hold his ground.

"What? What do you mean?"

"It didn't work out. Now go. I can hear Ino whining all the way from over here." The raven muttered.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sasuke. Later." Naruto hung up the phone, finally allowing himself to be pulled out the door. The two blondes reached Ino's cherry red corvette and climbed in. As Naruto was doing up his seatbelt, Ino asked the same question he'd been asking himself.

"It seems like Sasuke's been warming up to you, eh?" She looked over her shoulder as she pulled out of the parking lot of his apartment.

"Yeah, I've been thinking that too." Naruto grimaced as he continued. "I'm just scared he's going to snap at me again though."

Ino sent him a look of sympathy. "He certainly is a challenge..."

"I know." Naruto's face suddenly brightened. To Ino, that could only mean one thing. "You're thinking about him naked again, aren't you?"

"W-WHAT? No!" Naruto cried, his cheeks staining a bright red. He felt mortified by Ino's assumption. Covering his face with hands, he turned to face the window.

"Relax, sunshine. I'm just teasing." Ino smirked. She spared a glance at Naruto, who was huddled against the window. "And quit being so dramatic."

"I think my reaction is appropriate!" Naruto retorted, sending her a glare. She merely shrugged her shoulders, ignoring his statement.

"You know, you're really mean to me. I don't know why I allow myself to be treated this way." Naruto mumbled beneath his breath. When they stopped at a red light, Ino turned to face him. "Dude. I'm the sweetest bitch in town."

"You're not a guido." Naruto said through barely contained laughter. Ino grinned as the light turned green. It gave her a sickly appearance, so Naruto looked down at his hands. They had been tightly clenched in his lap until recently, when he'd been brutally embarrassed. On a more serious note, the whole Sasuke situation had been stressing him out. It really did seem like he'd begun to loosen up a bit, but you never know when he's going to give you the cold shoulder.

"Guidette. That's the proper term." The blonde chuckled, speeding past a red light.

"Ino! Watch your driving!" Naruto reprimanded, but his heart wasn't into it.

"Aw, are you stressed out about Sasuke?" Ino asked, raising a brow. "We can pay him a visit later on today, if you like."

"No! He'd... he'd be angry. No." Naruto shook his head. Ino rolled her eyes, a plan already formulating in her head. She wasn't as book smart as she could be, but she certainly had a knack for planning.

"Alright, alright. We're almost there." She muttered, looking into the rear view mirror to check her make-up.

"You look fine." Naruto sent her a genuine smile, one that very few people had seen. Not even all of his friends had seen it.

"Those are the smiles I like best." Ino commented, a sad look in her eyes. Naruto pursed his lips, looking out at the parking lot swarming with cars and people. He was all for avoiding awkward situations.

"So, why did you want to go shopping, anyways?" He asked. They climbed out of the car, and the male blonde waited for the female blonde to touch up on her make-up and hair. Two minutes later, two stunning blondes were making their way through a crowd that seemed to part specifically for them.

"You're hot." Ino stated absently. Naruto chuckled, raising a brow at her. "Just saying."

"You're not my type, sorry." The male teased. Ino bit her lip, most likely thinking up a comeback.

"If I was a guy would you date me?" Ino questioned innocently. Naruto's eyes widened, but he managed to respond.

"Not even then."

"What about if I was Sasuke?" She asked softly. This time Naruto was properly shell shocked. He chose not to answer, as Ino could most likely already tell what he was going to say. They stopped in front of a dark store. The lights had been turned off, but there were glow in the dark stars and the such to create enough light to see where you were going. It gave the store a gloomy appearance, and almost lured you in.

"Is this... open?" Naruto asked, frowning at the seemingly empty store. Ino nodded, leading the way in. She would stop every couple seconds to examine the merchandise. Most of the things she expressed interest in didn't seem to be her type. "Are you buying a present for someone?"

"Yeah." Ino dismissed the male's questions with a wave of her hand. She picked up a package of glow in the dark stars. "My friend really likes space and that kind of stuff. Do you think he'd like these for his room?"

Naruto took the package into his own hand, flipping back and forth between the front and back. "Yeah, maybe. How old is he?"

"Early 20s." Ino didn't seem to want to supply anymore information. They continued through the store, laughing every five seconds at an outstanding discovery. Naruto saw the cover of a book on space, and greedily took it into his hands.

"Oh, what's that?" Ino asked, looking over his shoulder at the pages he flipped through. "Space." Naruto replied, sounding dazed. He'd always been fascinated by the universe.

"I think my friend would like it." Ino said, taking the book from Naruto. He protested, but she eventually managed to pry it out of his hands. They finally reached the cashier and dumped Ino's assortment of items on the counter. When the female blonde had finished paying, she announced they would be heading home.

"What? Already?" Naruto said, incredulously. He knew from experience that Ino was a shopping fanatic that would stop at nothing to get her hands on a pair of shoes. So why would she only stop by one store at the mall?

"I'm tired, and by the looks of it, you're tired too." She answered, wrapping an arm around Naruto's waist. Immediately the warmth radiating from his body engulfed her, and she sighed in peacefulness.

"I love touching you." She nuzzled her cheek into his shoulder.

"Woah, woah. That was kind of creepy." But Naruto wrapped his arm around her anyways. To anyone who didn't know them personally, they would have looked like an adorable couple. Unfortunately, they were just friends, and were both in ridiculous love situations. With the same man. But no one needed to know that, right?

-x-

Naruto groggily opened his eyes. He quickly snapped them shut again when white light burned his corneas. "Hey, Ino, where are we?" He asked, covering a yawn with his hand. He vaguely remembered leaving the mall, getting in the car, and being given permission to fall asleep. So why did he feel so well rested? His house wasn't very far from the shopping mall.

"Oh, I needed to make a stop before I dropped you off." She replied. Her voice sounded far away. Maybe she'd drugged him? Nah, she wasn't that crazy. He straightened his back, as he'd fallen into an awkward position in his deep slumber. With an irritable sigh, he opened his eyes for good. His gaze immediately darted towards the window to find their whereabouts. The sky was overcast, bleak grey light filtering through the blanket of clouds. They were casually driving around a neighbourhood he didn't recognize. The houses were dark and beautiful, an easy sign pointing to wealth. Ino finally parked outside of a moderately sized home.

"Well, it's sleek and chic, I suppose." Naruto commented. "Yep! It's even nicer on the inside." Ino chirped. An uncomfortable silence fell upon them.

"Can you come with me?" The female asked in a shy tone. Naruto growled in annoyance, but got out of the car anyways. "Whose house is this?" He watched Ino walk up the pathway leading up to the front door with relative ease.

"A friend's house." For some reason, Naruto felt suspicious of her behaviour. She wasn't acting like her usual self.

"Okay..." The male leaned lazily against one of the walls framing the front door as Ino rang the door bell. It was only a few seconds before footsteps could be heard stomping down the stairs.

"_What_?" The person at the door took a step back as he realized who they were. "Oh, it's you."

"Ino? What? Why... why are we at Sasuke's house?"

-x-

The two were invited in... well, to be more specific, barged in. Sasuke had eventually shut the door on their faces when Ino failed to explain her reason for being there. Then, with a surprising exhibit of speed, managed to take the spare key out from beneath Sasuke's doormat and unlock the door.

"That's kind of creepy, Ino." Sasuke said with a sigh. He knew he couldn't prevent the blonde from finding her way in. Instead, he had simply made her triumph more difficult.

"I've been told." She grinned happily. She took Naruto's hand and pulled him inside despite his protests. She knew, however, that he hadn't even tried to resist. Had he even put in a smidgen of effort, Ino's attempts would have been futile.

"Hi." Naruto muttered, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. Sasuke didn't look amused, but he didn't look too pissed off either.

"Hn." Sasuke greeted with a nod of his head. And with that, Naruto was happy. The Uchiha left down a hallway to their right, leaving Ino and Naruto to fight for themselves. Ino apparently knew her way around the house and they managed to reach Sasuke's destination in a matter of seconds. He was sitting at the kitchen counter, concentrating deeply on a notepad. His hair, Naruto noticed, was glistening with beads of water.

"Were you in the shower?" Naruto asked, taking the seat next to him rather than waiting to (never)be asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke replied. His voice once again had that distracted tone, and the blonde eyed the notepad Sasuke was mulling over.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, craning his neck to catch a glimpse.

Sasuke frowned in response, looking up from his work. "I'm writing, stupid."

"Hey! There's no need for that, bastard." Naruto huffed, crossing his arms.

"_Naruto. _I'm trying to-" The sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted Sasuke. The blonde looked up sheepishly, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. He glanced briefly at the number, and found he didn't recognize it. Then again, he was never too good at remembering things. It was always a guessing game with him, despite his supposed "perfection".

"I think I'm going to take this. I'll be right back, okay?" Naruto said. The feeling of his phone vibrating against his hand irked him. Sasuke nodded, resuming his work.

"Hello?" Naruto breathed into the phone. In his search for a room to take the call in, he'd stumbled across the dining room. It was painted a startling grey, and the dining table was a shiny, dark wood.

"Naruto, is that you?" A voice replied. He felt his insides freeze in his shock. His grip on the phone tightened in fear of dropping it. Could it really be her? She was dead, wasn't she?

"M-mom?" Naruto whispered. He was scared. He was so scared it wouldn't be her, and at the same time he was scared it _would _be her. It wasn't possible. It wasn't true.

"Naruto, honey, it's me." Her voice shook as she spoke.

"It can't be!" Naruto cried, falling into the nearest chair.

"It's me, it's really me." She pleaded.

"No, it can't... you're... she's dead. W-who are you?" The blonde closed his eyes, and raised a hand to wipe at his cheeks. He hadn't even noticed the tears falling.

"I'm Kushina Uzumaki. I'm your mother, Naruto. You know it's me." Her voice no longer shook, it was no longer distorted by emotion. It was as clear as a window, as a drop of rain, as the sky itself.

"But... I saw you die, I don't understand!" He rested his head on the table, keeping his eyes focused on the light coming from the kitchen. Sasuke was in there. Just knowing that Sasuke was nearby calmed him down.

"You watched me die, so there's only one possible solution." Kushina said softly.

"You're... you've become a cyborg." Naruto mumbled. It was hard to speak around the knot in his throat. He was so upset his temperature was skyrocketing, and he couldn't control it. At this rate, he'd probably end up burning holes in Sasuke's furniture if he didn't calm down. He took a deep breath and concentrated on cooling off.

"You always were a smart boy." Kushina whispered.

The blonde whimpered quietly into his arm. "You're alive. Not as a human, but as a cyborg. You're alive."

"I'm alive." Kushina agreed. Naruto knew that if he had a heart, it would be beating so fast it could power an entire city.

"I missed you. I really, really, missed you." He heard his voice cracking, and he let out a sigh.

"I know, sweetie. I missed you so much too. But you turned out alright. You're okay. I'm so... so proud of you, Naruto." That tremor was back, and Naruto smiled as he heard it.

"I love you, mom. I never got to tell you that before you died. I'm sorry that we fought so much. But I always did love you. You were nothing but good to me, and I completely took you for granted." By this point, Kushina was sobbing on the other side of the phone. "Don't cry, mom. Please."

"Oh, Naruto. You never fail to move me. I love you so much, Naru." She managed to say, before another sob came from her lips.

"Sh, there, there. Don't cry." Naruto mumbled. He was horrible at comforting people. All his life, he'd been the one that needed comforting. And now, as he failed to comfort his own mother, he realized how useless he was. Useless at human emotion. He'd been a human once, but he couldn't imitate those precious emotions in his current state. He was a cyborg, and he could feel. He could feel, but he could not _really _feel.

"How did you find me, anyways?" Naruto asked in an effort to change the topic.

Kushina sniffled lightly before answering. "Your family? Is that what you call them? I found them first, and they led me to you."

"M-my family helped you?" Naruto questioned, trying to mask his surprise.

"Yes." Kushina said. Naruto could hear her talking to someone on the other line. "Naruto, honey? It's time for me to go. They want to limit my contact with you."

"What? No! I just found you! Mom!" Naruto raised his voice, hoping she could hear him.

"I love you, okay? I love you so much. I'm sorry." She said before hanging up. Naruto let out a frustrated sigh. His head was throbbing his questions. He hadn't known dead people could become cyborgs. Unfortunately, he didn't know very much about the process in the first place. He wiped furiously at his eyes, determined to not show Sasuke his weakness. He stood from his seat, pushed the chair into its original position, and entered the kitchen. Sasuke looked up at him, a question in his eyes.

"Were you crying?" He asked. Naruto sighed in defeat. Apparently, nothing could go right for him today.

"A little." He admitted, claiming the spot next to Sasuke again. The Uchiha pursed his lips, but didn't ask any further questions.

"Hey, Sasuke, do you know where Ino is?"

The raven looked up at him in surprise. "She left a while ago."

"W-what? What do you mean, she left?" Naruto panicked. Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder to halt his flailing arms. The touch immediately stopped his movements, and he sat quietly as a fierce blush stained his cheeks.

"Shut up." Sasuke ordered. "She slipped out the front door when she thought I wasn't looking."

"I don't have a ride." Naruto bowed his head in embarrassment. Sasuke sighed, and flicked the blonde's cheek in annoyance.

"Ow!" Naruto yelped, looking up with a glare.

"You can stay for the night. I'm not going to drive you anywhere while it's raining."

The glare quickly disappeared and was replaced with a bright grin. "Thank you, Sasuke!" In a flurry of movement, he'd wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and somehow managed to knock them both to the ground. By sheer luck, and perhaps an interference by Benzaiten, ****** they landed in a questionable position. The blonde has his legs around Sasuke's waist, and in turn Sasuke had his hands on Naruto's hips. They were both shocked into silence.

"Get off!" Sasuke finally yelled, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Naruto did as he was told.

"I'm so sorry! That wasn't supposed to happen. All I was aiming for was a friendly hug-"

"Naruto."

"But somehow I put in too much force and sent us flying to the floor! And trust me; it was pure coincidence I landed on you-"

"_Naruto."_

"Even worse, we landed in _that _position! It wasn't on purpose, I promise! You're the person I'd _least _want to get intimate with-"

"NARUTO."

"It isn't that you're unattractive or anything, because seriously, you're a Greek god, but I'm not gay. Maybe if I _was _gay I'd get with you, but for the moment it won't happen. Once again, I am so, so sorry-"

"NARUTO!"

"Yes?"

"It's okay."

The best part was that he didn't sound remotely angry.

**-x-**

**Hi. I hope you guys liked it. I made it a bit longer than usual. Not very much happens in the chapter, but the plot finally gets put into play. It's going to be getting intense from here on out. Thank you so much for the reviews and favourites!**

**Benzaiten ** - She's the Goddess of love in Japanese culture? I google'd it, so I wouldn't really know if it was right. Please correct me if there's something better I could say. I guess it depends on what religion though. Forgive my ignorance! :'(**

**Review Reply:**

**i-got-m2m: Hi! Haha, the point of the story is for you to be confused! It'll all be clearing up as the plot continues. I think I might include a flashback next chapter to explain the process for you guys though. Oh, and it's because Shikamaru met Naruto as a child, and gradually began to introduce him to all of his friends. Sasuke never bothered to go out with his "friends" though, so he never met him. But there's another reason too, which will be explained later. Thank you for reviewing!**

**lowfat-yogurt: You're welcome, and thank you! Hopefully you'll keep reading.**

**NaruSasuFan: Thank you! One thing though. This is gonna be a SasuNaru. Well, I guess it could be a SasuNaruSasu though. You've gotta factor in Naruto's super strength/resistance to everything. **


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